Bishop, CA: Shakedown Tour
One Sunday morning, a couple of weeks ago, we loaded our bikes and drove south an hour to the relative balminess and snow-free roads of Bishop. This was a fully-loaded day ride, a test of body and gear: a shakedown tour. We will soon be on a plane to Greece to begin our next bike tour, and a few things are different this time.
For one, there will be four of us. For first three weeks we will be joined by Ann and Joe, good friends and neighbors. Both are enthusiastic, adventurous, and of good humor. Bike touring is new for Ann, but Joe has a past of bike touring in Europe and the United States when he was in his twenties. And he is an intimidatingly strong cyclist, so we may need to sneak some weight into his panniers just to slow him down.
We also have new bikes. John spent the winter building them, and they are mighty fine. Besides lighter frames and lower gearing, they have a couple features we think are important based on our past touring experiences. John found these Ritchey Breakaway Ascent frames, which have integrated couplers that allow us to collapse the frames and pack them into smaller bike boxes. It is always a hassle to try and find boxes to pack and check them in as extra baggage on the plane, especially in a foreign city at the end of a tour. At least now we can utilize smaller boxes, which tend to be more available. The second feature are disk brakes, to save wear and tear on the hands and rims on long, steep descents. Ann has adopted my old bike for this tour, and with some stem and gear adjustments, it seems to suit her well. A bike becomes like a family member on a tour, something you keep healthy and safe and rely on. Even after almost 20,0000 miles, there is still some life left in my old ride, and I hope Ann bonds with it and loves travel on two wheels as much as we do.
Also different on this tour is that we have lost this blog’s biggest fan. My mother passed away at the end of November 2016. She was always so excited about the places we traveled. Without fail I would get an enthusiastic email after I posted a story. Those blog posts were really letters to her. I miss her, and think of her every day. But enough people have asked about the blog, so I will continue writing and sharing pictures. Thanks for your interest.
We arrive in Athens the last day of March, and need to be in Berlin by end of July for our flight home. John has planned a route through Greece and eight other countries (more or less – the itinerary is always a bit fluid). We are looking forward to the new landscapes, foods, languages, and challenges that make for interesting experiences worthy of sharing. I hope you will follow along.